D-Day Was Almost a German Holiday

As we celebrate
the British and American invasion of Europe to roll back tyranny, we
should remember that during WWII, Britain and the U.S. came close to
being invaded themselves. Looking back at the dark history of 1940-42,
when the Allies were losing the war, teaches us some important lessons
for today.

June 4, 1940:
338,226 British and French troops are evacuated from Dunkirk beach just
before the Nazis capture it. Hitler will soon finish off France and
Western Europe. Invasion of Great Britain appears imminent. Winston
Churchill vows 'We shall fight on the beaches ... we shall never
surrender!' but despite Churchill's brave words, much of Britain's
military weaponry was left behind at Dunkirk. And while Britain
frantically tries to train a civilian Horne Guard, the trainees have to
practice with canes. umbrellas, spears and pikes.

The British Home
Guard has no guns because restrictive gun controls enacted in 1921 have
disarmed the public. The British gun laws were enacted because the
government did not trust the people, and was afraid of a Bolshevik
revolution. But the disarmed British people now lack the means to
protect their government.

Expecting a German
landing within weeks, the British government has ads placed in American
newspapers, begging Americans to send Britons "pistols, rifles,
revolvers and shotguns." "British civilians, faced with the threat of
invasion, desperately need arms for the defense of their homes" implore
the ads.

In the U.S., the
National Rifle Association leads and delivers.

Hitler, for
reasons still not fully known, decides to bomb Britain mercilessly, but not to
invade. The next year, the war comes to America.

December 7, 1941:
While Pearl Harbor burns, Americans worry about a Japanese landing on
the West coast, or in Hawaii. In subsequent months, American troops and
the National Guard are shipped off to Manila and beyond to try
(unsuccessfully) to bold back the Japanese tide. No uniformed army is
left to defend American shores.

So almost
immediately after Pearl Harbor, Hawaii's Governor calls for citizens and
their guns to man checkpoints and patrol beaches against an expected
Japanese invasion.

In early 1942, the
Japanese begin sending explosive balloons to bomb the West Coast. The
Japanese army captures two Alaskan islands and a Japanese submarine
shells a Los Angeles oil refinery.

The Governors of
Oregon, Washington, and other states reactivate their state militias:
civilians and their personal arms (the Second Amendment's "well
regulated militia'). These militias will provide the only defense if
Japanese troops land.

January 13, 1942:
Nazi U-Boats begin operation Paukenschlag (Drum Roll), sinking
ships off the U.S. East Coast at will. Although Germany, unlike Japan,
lacks the naval capacity for a full-scale invasion of the U.S., the Nazi
submarines could easily discharge commando raiders to attack strategic
East coast targets.

March 10, 1942: Maryland Governor Herbert R. O'Conner
broadcasts a call
for "Maryland Minute Men" who will be expected to furnish their own
weapons to defend state shores against commando landings and saboteur
attacks staged from prowling U-Boats. Fifteen thousand men respond, and
begin guarding strategic locations. Virginia also reactivates its
militia.

While
state militias guard the beaches, the federal government begins training
civilians for guerilla warfare. The War Department recommends civilians
keep easily concealable guerilla warfare weapons like handguns.
Altogether, about 600,000 men (and some women) perform patrol duties for
the next 18 months of the war.

Even in
non-coastal states, citizens arm themselves heavily; some even begin to
manufacture their own ammunition at home ("handloading") since the
commercial manufacturers are so busy with military needs.

The Axis powers
decide not to invade, and by late 1943, the tide of war has turned, and
Germany and Japan are on the defensive.

There were many
good reasons for the Axis not invading in 1942, including the difficulty
(but not the impossibility) of supplying
a large invasion force across an ocean. One other reasonthat
America (despite its vast natural and industrial treasures) turned out
not to be a good invasion target is that invaders would have had to
contend with guerrilla resistance from a heavily armed populace that was
familiar with guns.

In France,
Yugoslavia, and Russia, partisans were already tying down large portions
of the German army. Chinese guerillas were doing the same to the
Japanese in Manchuria and elsewhere. The prospect of equally fierce
resistance from the better-armed Americans must have seemed daunting.

Today, there is no
threat of armed foreign invasion of the U.S. But as the 20th century
teaches us, world politics can change more rapidly than anyone can
expect.

It's true that
guns are important to protect modem Americans against the attacks of
today's home-grown violent criminals. But as the authors of the Second
Amendment made clear, the main benefit of civilian gun ownership is
protecting the people against a tyrannical government. When armed
British and American civilians helped prevent their countries against
tyrannical invasion in 1940 through 1943, the wisdom and foresight of
the Founding Fathers was once again confirmed.

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